


Tumble and Splash

by Judy_The_Dreamer



Series: Faerie prince Steve Rogers and his not so secretive aquatically-inclined friends [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Bingo fill, Bucky is an aquatic shapeshifter, Faerie AU, FaeriePrince!Steve, Friendship, Gen, Modern AU possibly, No Romance, Octopus-shifter!Bucky, Steve is a faerie prince, Steve nearly drowns, a very oblivious one, aquatic au, bingo square: shapeshifters, shapeshifter AU, so he can be forgiven for being somewhat dense, somewhat cracky, tw: nearly accidental drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 16:58:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18370244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Judy_The_Dreamer/pseuds/Judy_The_Dreamer
Summary: Deprived of believers by the modern world, Steve Rogers is perhaps the most lackluster earth faerie prince you’ll ever meet. Good thing then that he’s a man with a plan. Unfortunately for Steve, he hasn’t quite figured out that the people he’s charming aren’t exactly human in every sense of the word.That time Bucky Barnes’s adrenaline addiction nearly got Steve killed and pollution might not be the saviour Steve thinks it is.





	Tumble and Splash

**Author's Note:**

> My first fill for the awesome Bucky Barnes Bingo! For the square B2: Shapeshifters.
> 
> You can occasionally find me on Tumblr: judy-the-dreamer.

The modern world was a tough place for a faerie prince to be born in. Ever since his first day on this green-blue planet, Steve had been a tiny thing. Light-boned with skin stretched translucently over his skeleton, he considered himself not really something to look at compared to the otherwise buxom earth faeries that made up his extended family. Perhaps that should have been the first hint he didn’t quite belong.

The other faeries whispered to his mother that they might be witnessing the impact of modern living on their species. The less people believed in magic, the less the faerie race would thrive and Steve appeared to be a clear sign of the encroaching supremacy of mankind over the Fey. Instead of hanging his head, however, the bold boy had taken that as a incentive to win over as many disbelieving humans as he could.

Starting with Bucky Barnes in kindergarten.

Though Steve had to admit that their first meeting had been less than conducive to establishing belief, since the faerie prince had just gotten his nose broken by a surprisingly vicious right-hook from the schoolyard bully.

Bucky had thrown himself upon the culprit with a screech and managed to subdue their opponent with a – Steve had to grudgingly admit very impressive – stranglehold. From there on out the boys had been inseparable at school and beyond. And if Bucky was kind of funny sometimes with his wacky arm-movements, Steve never drew special attention to it. He had a friend!

Unfortunately, his new friend also kept dragging him to places somebody of his stature and strength didn’t exactly want to be. Like, for example, Coney Island when the weather was shit and the normally docile waves became tempestuous. 

Bucky, the bloody adrenaline junkie, had closed his eyes, sniffed the sea air and jumped right in the cold water. Leaving Steve behind to huddle in his oversized coat and brave the pier alone. He’d been hoping to catch some vendors, but most stalls were closed and the wooden boards were dangerously wet under feet. 

Far in the distance he spotted Bucky’s drifting form and he went to the bannister to shout at him to come back so they could go inside and get something hot to drink. But the floor clearly didn’t agree with his sense of fun, because the soles of his shoes skidded him all the way to the low barrier separating him from the sea. Before he could process the pain of the impact, his momentum sent him toppling over it with an breathless ‘oof’.

A horrified Steve watched the world turn upside down as the pier disappeared from under his feet and was replaced by the cold embrace of the waves. The water penetrated his coat within seconds, soaking the fabric through and making it become too heavy for Steve to float with.

_ I’m never following one of Buck’s ideas again _ , the faerie thought as he saw the light disappear overhead, but even that was devoid of anger thanks to the growing fuzziness in his head.

His arms became heavy and he found he could not move them even if he’d wanted them to. Drowning was the kind of fate all the other earth faeries had warned him of, but Steve found it an oddly peaceful end. He shut his eyes and took in the muted sound of the surrounding waves.

Something thick and ropey drifted past and suddenly the faerie was wrenched upwards with great force, forcing the last of the air out of his lungs. Steve gasped in the salty water he’d avoided swallowing until then.

His head broke the surface in a flash and the faerie spluttered as he fought to get the air back in his lungs.

“Come on, buddy, breathe. I believe in you.” A very human arm was wrapped around his middle now and Steve dazedly realized it was attached to Bucky, who was somehow able to stay afloat amid the ear-deafening roaring of the waves.

He obliged his friend in between the coughs that were strong enough to rattle his entire frame, and he felt the rope that Bucky had dragged him up with loosen and fall away slowly.  _ Where did he get it out in open water _ , Steve wondered. Well, not like him to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if its presence was caused by pollution.

Bucky pulled the both of them back to shore, cursing at Steve’s carelessness the entire way. His pant legs were curiously ripped in places, probably thanks to having been caught on the wood of the pier, so Steve offered him the sodden coat to cover his exposed skin. His friend accepted the garment reluctantly and the both of them dripped all over the road on the way back home.

During the entire trip, Bucky watched him warily, like he was expecting the other shoe to drop. Except Steve had no idea there was even a shoe hanging in the air on his part and, frankly, he was much too tired and cold to care.

 

_ Looking back, that should have tipped him off to the fact that Bucky was not what he seemed. _

**Author's Note:**

> How long will Steve remain oblivious? Idk.


End file.
